Joliet expanding access to mental health care

The city is launching a mental health initiative that advocates said will make Joliet stand out in the expansion of accessibility to care.

The city is partnering with Thriveworks, a private provider of mental health services, and Silver Cross Hospital to provide residents with faster access to treatment.

Joliet officials are considering making $400,000 of city money available to make care available for uninsured and under-insured city residents.

The plan is to reduce the wait for access to therapists and psychologists to hours when it can now take weeks.

“The access is what we don’t have now,” Joliet Deputy Fire Chief Jeff Carey said after making a presentation on the project to the City Council on Monday.

Carey said people typically wait four to six weeks for access to care, whereas they would be able to begin meeting with a therapist the same day or next day under the project being launched.

Mental health issues account for a growing number of ambulance calls handled by the fire department, Carey told the council.

“The number of mental health calls we have continue to go up year after year,” he said. “Today, they account for about 15% of all of the calls that we have.”

He cited 12 suicides among area high school students during the current school year as an example of the growing need for mental health services.

Carey said Thriveworks will begin operating in June in space provided at the Silver Cross Professional Building located at 1051 Essington Road to begin providing faster access to care.

He asked the council to consider an allocation of $400,000 to cover costs for residents who would not be able to afford care because they don’t have health insurance or enough coverage to pay for treatment.

City Manager James Capparelli said he would prepare a proposal for the city contribution for the next council meetings May 16 and 17.

The plan appeared to have support from several council members, including Mayor Bob O’Dekirk who called it “a great idea.”

Sister Mary Frances Seeley, founder of the Upper Room Crisis Hot Line and who helped Joliet develop the program, told the council the Joliet project is unlike any she has seen in any other city across the country.

“I think the project is also an investment in the future,” Seeley told the council. “The ones who don’t get mental health services are going to be your homeless and troubled people.”

Carey said the city also will begin providing information about Thriveworks and other mental health providers to residents during emergency calls and other means, including notice provided with water bills.